Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Last year, a study published by Tuismitheoiri na Gaeltachta demonstrated that only 23% of parents in the Gaeltacht are raising their children through Irish. Thankfully, the use of Irish outside the Gaeltacht seems to be increasing, but there can be no real revival of the Irish language without its native speakers. A crucial part of that is the education system and treating Irish as a living language instead of a subject in which one just needs to pass an exam. Will the Taoiseach commit the Government to supporting the Gaeilge4All campaign and commit the Department of Education to beginning an immediate consultation process to formulate the policy for Irish all the way through the education system? According to information received by Conradh na Gaeilge under a freedom of information request, the State Examinations Commission has expressed great concern about the decision to move paper one of the Irish leaving certificate to fifth year and the grave consequences that would have for students' education, particularly male students. Will the Government reverse that decision?

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